Nobody's Fault But Mine
by WaywardSon5160
Summary: Dean has been sabotaging Sam’s efforts to break his deal. Why would he do that and how long can he keep it from Sam? Set during Season 3 after AVSC. Rated for language.
1. Chapter 1

Nobody's Fault But Mine

Summary: Dean has been sabotaging Sam's efforts to break his deal. Why would he do that and how long can he keep it from Sam? Set during Season 3 after AVSC. Title from Zeppelin.

Disclaimer: I don't own jack. All the cool parts belong to Eric Kripke

A little bit about me you might not have already known: I love syrup. Sometimes I even eat pancakes with it.

On to the Story! (Part 1 at least…)

XxXxX

Sam was down for the count. Eighteen hours of nothing but research would do that to a guy. Just to be on the safe side, Dean had switched his brother's coffee with decaf. It was wrong, and he felt six kinds of dirty doing that to his brother, and if Sam found out there would be an awful lot of esplaining to do, but all the sour looks and snide comments about trying to save him would be worth it if Sam would just get one night of good sleep. In the mean time, Dean had some work of his own to do.

First things first, he deleted the browsing history on Sam's computer making sure to wipe the favorites as well. It wasn't subtle and Sam would know as soon as he sat down at the computer, but Dean already had a lie in place for when this little sabotage came into the light. He may not be able to crack FBI databases or snatch a dead guy's social security number out of the interweb's ether, but fifteen years worth of what Sam may call an unhealthy addiction, and he called observing the beauty that Asia gave us, taught him how to delete his search history.

This wasn't the first time he'd actively worked against his little brother, and it most probably would not be the last. Last week he'd "spilled" his coffee all over Sam's notes, but after fifteen minutes of ranting and raving about clumsy older brothers and caffeine dependence Sam quieted down and immediately got back to work. His little brother could bitch all he wanted, if this was what it took to make sure that the deal held and his brother lived, it would all be worth it. Some of his efforts, though, were much less rewarding.

Dean still cringed when he thought about last week's altercation with one of Sam's contacts…

_A week ago…_

The nervous look his brother threw him as Dean made his way from the motel lobby was all the indication he needed about what exactly Sam was doing on the phone. Dean knocked on his brother's window holding up the number six before opening the back door to retrieve his duffel and the weapons bag. As he opened the door he caught the tail end of Sam's conversation before his little brother could end the phone call.

"Yeah, no problem. I'm sure I can make it over there in a couple days… Yeah." Sam looked back at him with a cheeky grin on his face and then chuckled. "Always. Thanks again, Harv." The smile was still on his face as he got out of the Chevy and zipped his coat a little higher to try to shield against the sudden frigid gust. After the false green Christmas left thanks to their efforts with Gramps and Nanna God, Michigan quickly reclaimed its membership in the subzero northern Midwest club.

"That didn't sound like a pizza order," Dean said. A raised eyebrow adorned the careful mask he allowed his brother.

"I think I've finally got a lead on your deal, Dean! I'm gonna go grab a quick shower and then I'll fill you in." Without another word he grabbed his bag, smacked Dean on the arm and headed into their room. As the door swung shut Dean let the mask fall into the snarl he'd been holding in. _Why the hell'd you have to say anything, Sammy?_ Dean let his shoulders slump, grabbed his bag and followed his brother into room number six.

His normally organized and anally retentive little brother had strewn his bag and clothes throughout the room. The shower was already running, and a tuneless version of 'Up Around the Bend' was filtering through the closed door. Apparently hope brought out the sloppy CCR fan in his little brother. Dean crept through the room stopping next to his brother's forgotten jeans to fish out Sam's cell phone. Quickly punching in recent calls he saw the first one had the area code 434… _South Boston, huh? Harvey Petula, then. Damnit, Sammy why'd you have to tell me about it?_ Dean grabbed the motel stationary and scribbled down the phone number before replacing Sam's phone back in the pants pocket.

Dean silently moves over to Sam's laptop to confirm some information before closing it and heading outside to complete his task.

Harvey picked up on the third ring. "Yes? Hello?" Dean takes a deep breath. This isn't the first time he's called one of Sam's contacts, but it's certainly the hardest.

"I want you to stop all contact with Sam Winchester."

"What are you talking about? I'm doing him a favor." Harvey sounded confused and, as expected from a hunter, on his guard.

Dean swallowed his revulsion and schooled his voice as best he could against the anger and self loathing that plagued him, "Do the police in Massachusetts have any leads on the killer of that 28 year old girl, Michelle Brachner. Apparently she was found naked outside her apartment with a homemade silver bullet lodged in her heart? I am told a witness saw a man of average height and average build between the ages 35 and 47 leave the alley around the same time as the murder. There was a pronounced limp in his left leg."Dean provided, keeping his voice level.

"How dare you threaten me! Who the hell is this?"

Dean steeled himself for the final blow. _I'm sorry, Harv._ "The LAPD still have a warrant out for the arrest of Simon Parker for the apparent ritualistic murder of Christine and Jeremy Parker." _Everybody gets in the business somehow…_

The line was silent for thirty seconds before a low growl could be heard on the other end, "You son of a bitch. What do you want?"

"Do not call, write, barter, lend or sell anything to Sam Winchester. Is that understood?"

Another thirty seconds and Dean thought he might have lost the hunter. The voice that responded was ripe with anger and disbelief, "Is this you Dean? I have half a mind to shoot you next chance I get. Where the hell do you get off threatening me, you cocky little shit?"

Dean closed his eyes and let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding. "Don't you worry about that. Just keep your end of our agreement, break the meeting you've already set, and in six months this information dies with me." Dean ended the call and headed back inside. The warm motel room never seemed less inviting.

Ten minutes later Sam exited the shower as a monotonous tone beeped a reminder of a new message on his cell phone. His brother was still all smiles and teeth, "Hey, why didn't you get that?"

Dean shrugged a shoulder, his eyes never leaving the fuzzy image of… whatever the hell it was on the tv, "Respectin' your privacy."

Sam just smirked as he tapped his pin number into his voicemail, "First time for everything, huh?"

Dean didn't answer, his attention focused on Sam as his sibling's face crumple with every passing second of the message. After it was done Sam quickly hit redial on his phone with renewed determination on his face. Three consecutive times he hit redial and each time his face fell farther and the threatening tears rose closer to the surface.

Dean ducked his head as cell phone debris rained down off of the wall. The price of a cell phone was nothing compared to his little brother's life.

XxXxX

AN: That's it for part one. The next round explains why Dean is messing with Sam's attempts to break the deal. Reviews would be awesome!


	2. Chapter 2

Nobody's Fault But Mine

Part 2

_Back to present day…_

Mischief managed, Dean snuck outside to calm his nerves. Sam was still out like a light, an exhausted, geeky, behemoth of a light that needs his freaking rest, is more like it. He watched his breath rise in front of him as he reconsidered the excuse he'd planned on using for his electronic subterfuge. _Keep it together, Winchester. God, I'm tired of this…_

The cherry on his cigarette was the only light for miles. For just a moment he let the cold fill his senses and overtake him relishing in the feeling of goosebumps covering his body before he quenched the sensation focusing inward to drive out the cold and seeking a numbness within. His ability to ignore the cold was just another attempt to seek control over his surroundings. It had served him well on many a hunt, it wasn't supernatural or even superhuman just a need to be in control of himself if nothing else. Dean took a drag from his cigarette feeling it burn all the way from his throat to his lungs. He hated smoking, the taste, the smell, all of it, but with 6 months left to live it wasn't like it'd kill him and every sensation good and bad was just another reminder that he was alive, that he had a job to do and a brother to protect. He felt the presence behind him before he heard her boots crunch on the gravel parking lot.

"Isn't it a little chilly out here for your kind? I always figured you hell skanks preferred the hot-ass crossroads of Nowheres-ville, Arkansas or Assbackwards, Mississippi."

A heady chuckle flitted across the frozen courtyard, "Oh, I promise you, Dean, this little number is hot enough to withstand even _your_ cold shoulder."

"If she's anything like the last couple crossroads demons I've met, I don't doubt that, but I'm not so sure that poor girl you're riding feels the same. How 'bout we cut the crap. What do you want?"

Dean could hear the smile in her voice as she proceeded, "Straight to business. I like that, Dean. I'm just here to make sure you're keeping your end of the bargain. We can't have Sammy go off and break the deal by saving you now can we. You know that if we find out that he's succeeding, then we'll make sure you fail… again. I'd _hate _to have to see the light go out of his eyes again so soon after-"

Dean spun around fixing her with a glare that brighter creatures than her would have shrunken away from, "You shut your mouth, bitch." Dean took a step towards the demon. He was too angry to reach for his weapon, but at this point, he'd just as soon throttle the demon with his bare hands. "If you can't read my mind, how bout you read my lips. I'm. doing. my. part."

"But I can read your mind. Your little pea brain isn't even a challenge. Sammy, Sammy, pie, my breasts, my ass, pie… and Sammy. He really is your alpha and omega, isn't he? Honestly, it's a little creepy… Ooh, here's something interesting. Little brother still thinks there's hope for you." Her soft chuckle cut through the frigid air. "They're so cute when they're young and innocent aren't they?" Dean's death stare shifted to the horizon, breaking every rule his dad had taught him about dealing with demons, to lean against the fence once again.

His white knuckled grip on the fence was the only thing keeping him from reaching for his gun, "If you're done with my performance review, can I get back to enjoying my last few months on earth?"

He could picture the smug look on her face as she released a smoky laugh from deep in her throat. "Oh, but you don't seem to be enjoying it very much, Dean." Her words were silk wrapped steel, they would have sounded sympathetic if the demon bitch were capable of empathy, "It must be excruciating to watch little Sammy try _so hard_ to save you. Seeing it break him, bit by bit. The hope slowly leaving his eyes as he searches in vain for your salvation. So I ask you, Dean Winchester," she regarded him with a look that on any other being would have been compassion, "are you _really_ enjoying yourself?" Dean didn't say anything. He could taste the blood as he bit his lip to keep himself from exorcising this demon and to hell with the consequences, literally.

"If you'd like I could end it all for you right now." Dean could swear he heard a howl in the distance and his entire body involuntarily stiffened at the sound, "You don't have to watch Sam's futile efforts to save your tarnished, gutter soul. He can go on and live his life free from big brother's baggage.

"I'm more of a cat person, actually." It was lame retort, yeah, but he needed to hear his own voice, to make sure he was still capable of retaliating. His cocky remark didn't do as much to bolster him as he was hoping, maybe if Sam were here rolling his eyes or telling Dean to shut up…

Dean hadn't noticed the demon make her way towards him, his mind still trying to wrap around her words. Her cold, unfeeling hand began a slow track up to his shoulder from the base of his spine, imitating a lover's caress "Or maybe you're regretting our pact. Is little Sammy turning into something you're not so fond of? Word on the street is he's becoming quite the little firecracker."

Her hand knotted in his hair, tugging at the short strands as his neck snapped back,"That was an associate of mine he shot, you know. You were practically celebrities at the water cooler on Monday." Her hand resumed its previous soothing circles across his back. She pressed in close wrapping a leg around his as her pelvis made a slow counter-rhythm to her hand against his hip, "And the way he took out Jake...," she let out a moan of pleasure, "Barbaric… Inhuman. Maybe it's about time to put a bullet from that fancy gun of yours where it really belongs," her lips were inches from his ear, her breath ghosting across his skin sending excited shivers down his body as his lip curled in revulsion. "Tell you what, big boy. I'll give you an out. A peck on the cheek," she demonstrated the gesture, leaving him feeling violated, "and I'll let you out of your deal. True, Sam'll drop dead, but you'll be free to live your life. No more evil little brother to worry about. The way nature intended. What's dead, should stay-"

"I swear to fucking God if you don't get out of my face in 10 seconds, I will shoot you where you stand. I am not giving my brother up, now get out of here before I have to bury another tight ass little seductress's body." Enough was enough.

The demon, however, was unfazed. She had dropped back a step, but her chest was thrust out in a way that was more inviting than affronted. "Now Dean I don't think we need to resort to threats. This is nothing more than a business proposition."

"Ten." Dean reached for the newly restored Colt that he brought with him nearly everywhere nowadays and leveled it squarely with the demon's forehead.

"Well, if we're going to be tossing threats around," before Dean could move the demon was in his personal space, "maybe you should see a little bit of the threat _you'll _be facing all too soon." One hand fisted in his shirt, the other wrapped around his head pulling him down toward her lips. The disgusting cigarette was like freaking ice cream compared to the demons ash and sulfur flavored kiss.

There was a continual screaming that caused his head to resonate with pain and agony. It only seemed to stop when he took a few ragged breaths. Yet he could hear a deep, gravelly chuckle in full high definition stereo overlaying the screams. He couldn't see the demon, but he knew it was her laughing at him as he screams his guts out. But more so than anything else he feels isolated, cut off, a deep-seated, foundation-shaking sense of being completely alone, and that's what really breaks him.

He screams again only to feel the scrape of gravel on his face. Dean blinks once… and then again to clear his vision as the absence of pain seems to fill his senses. He swallows in a futile attempt to catch his breath only to begin gagging at the taste in his mouth. Dean looks over to see a puddle of rapidly freezing vomit, which explains one of the nauseating smells currently assailing him. He slowly makes his way to his feet, knees threatening to give out on him.

"How was your first glimpse of hell, Dean? Still think little Sammy's worth-"

"One." The demon dropped in an ungraceful heap as the bullet hole seeped grisly black smoke. Dean spat and swiped at his mouth, the taste of vomit and cigarette combining to make his stomach threaten a repeat of his earlier emesis session. "And yes, he is, bitch."

XxXxX

The sound of a gunshot brought Sam from zero to alert and oriented in fractions of a second. "Dean?" A quick scan of the room yielded an absence of one giant asshole of an older brother. Sam was groggy and definitely not as conscious as someone should be with the amount of coffee he'd consumed, but he was certainly conscious enough to kick his brother into next week for slipping him decaf. Sam didn't bother putting his shoes on, just grabbed his keys and his gun and ran outside in the hopes that he'd be the only one stomping his brother tonight.

_End of Part 2_

AN: Hope you like it so far. I'll try to get the next part up soon, but I haven't written it yet… sorry. Next time… Sam probably finds out about what Dean's been up to.


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